Artfully crafted by a New Zealand developer, Fitznik is an unusually clever puzzle game that doesn't require arcade reflexes to play. Your goal is to guide an adventurous wolf-like creature named Fitz to collect all the gems from an ancient lost city. Fitz has no weapons, so you have to use your wits and logic to outsmart the fireball-spitting cobras and hungry spiders that inhabit the game world. Much of the game involves sliding boulders around, similar to Sokoban, but Fitznik takes this type of gameplay in a whole new direction. Rather than just sliding the boulders to reach certain locations, Fitz uses the boulders to block cobras' fireballs, herd and trap spiders (which then causes the spiders and adjacent boulders to explode), build bridges, and more. The fun of the game comes from its challenge and sense of discovery. Each of the 63 puzzles builds on skills you develop on earlier levels, so once you think you've learned all the tricks, you're constantly presented with a new twist. For instance, Level 1 shows you how to use boulders to block cobras from shooting Fitz. Level 2 then teaches you how trap spiders. As you progress through the levels, you learn how to combine various skills to solve more and more intricately designed puzzles. You'll be amazed at how Fitznik's simple design yields such a wide variety of stimulating gameplay possibilities. Fitznik is a true gem in the world of logic puzzles. Unlike many common puzzle games that just have colored blocks on a grid, Fitznik draws you in with its depth of character and vivid animation. Fitznik has no boring 3D movies, doesn't require 3D hardware, and doesn't involve inflicting violence on other people. It's the kind of game that simply strives to immerse you in the purely mental experience of solving creative, interesting puzzles unlike any you've ever seen. Fitznik is a game that's very easy to learn, yet it's a real challenge to master. Download the demo and try out the first 10 levels.

Platforms: Win95 , Win98 , WinME , Windows2000 , WinXP

System requirements: DirectX 5.0 or later